Effective School Management

Figure 4.2
The choices between involvement and non-involvement

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TAKING AND IMPLEMENTING DECISIONS
5 5
COMMITMENT
While not all  staff like to be involved in decision-taking, there is
overwhelming evidence that most people would like a greater share than they
have in decisions which affect them but which are the responsibility of others.
A simple model putting the choices between involvement and non-
involvement is shown in Figure 4.2.
If people make such remarks as ‘Don’t ask me, you are paid to decide’, you
should ask yourself whether this reflects a real reluctance to be involved or
whether, on the other hand, your own behaviour where there is such
‘involvement’ is seen as a charade masking an inbuilt resistance to the ideas
of others. It is not enough to ask for opinions and ideas, you should also use
them when reasonably possible.
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Think of some decisions that you have taken recently and for each say whether your
approach was autocratic, persuasive, consultative or codeterminate. Do you
consider that your approach was the right one in each case? Did you have any
problems in implementation and why?
DELEGATION
Commitment based on the ‘My idea – it will work’ principle becomes even
stronger if we delegate as much as possible of the decision-taking to the
implementers. This is the thinking which underlies ‘management by
objectives’.
Ideally heads or heads of department will involve their subordinates but
take the decisions themselves in determining
(1) common policies;
(2) common systems;
(3) school or departmental objectives (these could derive in part from a
higher level); and
(4) what each individual is expected to achieve.
How individuals achieve their objectives can then be left to them, subject
always to a respect for the objectives of others and to staying within the
agreed policies and systems. As we saw earlier, this puts the individual into
an  ‘achievement loop’ of planning, implementing and controlling against
meaningful goals. If the goals have been agreed with the head or head of
department and colleagues, and if there is a review process, recognition of
achievement is also built automatically into the process.
Effective delegation depends on
(1) clearly defined objectives with a timetable;
(2) clearly defined criteria which should be borne in mind in achieving the
objectives; and

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5 6
EFFECTIVE SCHOOL MANAGEMENT
(3) review procedures or check points.
Let us suppose that the head delegates to a member of staff the task of
organizing a school fair on a given date. The teacher who has been  made
responsible will need also to know what essential and desirable criteria
apply, as follows.
Essential
(1) We must invite X, Y and Z.
(2) Areas A, B and C must not be used.
(3) We must not incur a budget of more than £x and we must not lose money.
(4) There will be no alcoholic drinks on sale.
(5) We must provide for the possibility of bad weather.
Desirable
(6) We shall raise at least £x.
(7) We shall avoid clashes with competing activities.
(8) We shall get subscriptions from local businesses.
The list is not, of course, comprehensive for even an imaginary fete. Many
other items may be quite clearly implied from the school’s culture or from
previous experience. However, especially if there is a new head or a new
organizer, a thorough briefing meeting can save a lot of wasted effort.
Job descriptions (see p. 75) are an important tool in permanently
delegating authority and responsibility for decisions and actions.
KEY PRINCIPLES
The effective taking of decisions depends in short on a logical process which
ensures in particular that we
(1) gather as many as possible of the relevant facts and opinions;
(2) consider the alternatives; and
(3) take into account the criteria which we need to meet and choose
accordingly.
Effective implementation depends on
(1) a plan;
(2) reviews of progress; and
(3) the involvement of the right people at the right time and through a well
controlled process.
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Plan to delegate a task or activity for which you are responsible (e.g. parents’
evening, school trip, sports day). Consider who should be involved, the objectives
and criteria that you need to communicate, and how you can achieve clear and
accepted delegation so that all know who is to do what by when. Put your plan into
practice.

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TAKING AND IMPLEMENTING DECISIONS
5 7
DISCUSSION TOPIC
Do teachers have time to
(1) take decisions in a consultative way?
(2) implement autocratic decisions?
(3) take any decisions?
FURTHER READING
Adair, J. (1985) Effective Decision Making: A Guide to Thinking for Management Success,
Pan, London.
Burns, R. (2002) Making Delegation Happen.  A Simple and Effective Guide to Implementing
Successful Delegation, Allen and Unwin, London.
A good general text explaining how decisions are taken in the public sector is
Lawton, A. and Rose, A.G. (1994) Organisation and Management in the Public Sector (2nd
edn) Financial Times Prentice Hall, London.

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5 8
EFFECTIVE SCHOOL MANAGEMENT
MEETINGS AND THE MANAGER
Though we tend to think of a meeting as a formal gathering at a prearranged
time and place, many meetings to discuss and progress the work of the
school or college are casual, informal affairs consisting of only four, three or
even two people. Such meetings can have just as important or even more
important outcomes for the organization. Meetings come in all shapes and
sizes. They may be highly structured and highly formalized with members
speaking to each other ‘through the chair’ and observing a rigid agenda, or
there may be no formal agenda and no acknowledged chairperson. They may
have many legitimate purposes, but – as we shall see – they all too often
wander aimlessly and have no productive outcome. They consume a high
proportion of the non-classroom time of all teachers.
TEAMWORK
Meetings are of critical importance in co-ordinating effort and effecting
change, and a very important part of the manager’s role is to ensure that they
are vehicles for communication and action rather than for confusion and
frustration. This will be achieved by ‘helicoptering’ above the hurly-burly of
the discussion, asking what we wish to achieve, being aware of the
behavioural processes at work and trying to structure the meeting in such a
way as to channel positively the energies of those involved.
TESTS OF AN EFFECTIVE MEETING
 The key criteria for judging a meeting’s effectiveness are
(1) Did the outcome of the meeting justify the time spent on it?
(2) Could there have been a better outcome for the same investment?
(3) Will the outcome be acted on?
In order to analyse whether or not these criteria have been met, further
questions should be asked: